This site does lean HEAVILY toward electrolysis. This is not meant as an insult ,as I have no issues with the this reliable method of hair removal. I can also understand that it must be difficult to get volunteers to contribute time on the laser or E section of this forum. I am just stating a fact from being on this forum for over a year; There are very few pros laser techs who contribute here at this time. So it is a much better place to come for info on electrolysis.
But this is a section called “Laser Hair Removal”. There is no problem surely in people singing the praises of electrolysis in its own section.
However, surely there is a problem where people are wrongly stating that laser will not help with a particular type of hair growth when clearly it will and has done.
How many times have I read LaGirl type “Laser only works with coarse hair” how many people have been put off a valid course of action, where frankly electrolysis is not an alternative unless one can devote hundreds of hours?
I think the reason is, that Laser does not need a cheer leading squad. Do you think its perhaps that the people who practise laser just get on with treatments, rather than having to actually convince people to use their old fashioned technique?
I hear you. I do respect the E pros here its just there really isn’t any equivalent widely experienced professionals on the laser section, or VERY rarely.
It seems like laser is unpredictable . Also risky. We still dont know long term results. I have experienced burns too. Just some of the reasons i will not chance it on my face ! However getting E for my face has been no easy task either for the reasons which ive gone into ad nauseam in other discussions.
I also have to agree that Laser seems to have worked ( at least to date) on some fine hair too and not on some coarse hair. For example it worked on tiny areas of my legs some of which was fine and not other areas of the same leg. My knees, for example where it was most coarse did not work at all. So go figure!I only did half leg and basically after more than 6 sessions my leg hair is reduced maybe 35%.
But yes i must agree from the results of my year experiment with lasers ,what hair that has been reduced on my body would have been expensive and taken forever with E not because E doesn’t work, or is less preferable, fast overall etc but mainly because it has been VERY hard to find people here who practises with the speed, reliable methods, professionalism and excellent results that i commonly see here. If I could find this quality out there in my world I would sing an entirely different tune!
I am done with laser however. I feel it is risky and I decided from the start on a one year trial only and no longer want to avoid the sun .
Like no other profession I have encountered , I have learned from my experience in this milieu, that there are LOTS of scam artists out there in both professions ! This hair raising journey would make a good documentay film and i would have to charge a high admission fee to pay all the hair removal bills that have been racked up this hair yanking year ! 
Laser is nether risky or unpredictable…not any more than electrolysis is. The difference on this forum is that there are a number of good electrologists on here and they give somewhat biased advice sometimes, often not on purpose, because they assume that all electrologists are the same and can provide the same results they do. This is by FAR not the case. Electrolysis and laser both have an equal number of potential issues if the practitioner doesn’t know what they’re doing. And if they do, you won’t experience any problems with either method either.
OP, a lot of your hair was coarse, but it was mixed with finer hair too. Treating at top settings was a good way to go.
Can you please share how long it’s been since your last treatment? Generally, we recommend to wait at least 6 months to judge true permanent removal since hair grows in phases.
So almost 10 months since last one.
You seem to be contradicting yourself here. Originally you said most was not coarse, now as my results disprove your theory its now become a lot of it was coarse.
My experience with laser is that it is a gradual effect and each treatment weakens and eventually destroys the hair root. This means that coarse hair becomes finer, finer and then becomes nothing.
I do think that overall the Gentlelase is superior to the lightsheer.
I am tempted to have one more treatment to see if I can get rid of the stragglers.
Granted that for the majority of my lhr i have not had access to a very good laser, or ideal strong settings however I’m not sure that more treatments work better since because it seems like now the hair that is there. has grown in thinner and so perhaps it is more difficult for the laser to treat? I just noticed the last couple treatments didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
If you were considering undergoing a surgery, a doctor might tell you that there is a high chance of failure, and he will recommend different courses of action with you. You may ultimately decide to go through with the surgery, and it might end saving your life. That doesn’t mean the doctor was wrong. A high CHANCE, means some people will benefit from it, and other won’t. It’s about weighing the risk and benefits, and it’s always better to fall on the side of caution.
The first pictures you posted were not good results. Any good practitioner would tell you to reconsider in light of that. This is particularly true when the alternative course of action (which may not be viable in your case) is pretty much the gold standard in hair removal.
If the laser process has worked for you well and you feel it has paid off for you, big time congrats!! You are lucky that you have so much reduction on your back after 11 laser treatments since 2002? Please continue to keep us updated in the future with before and after pics. If it’s not a secret, how much was your total cost until you achieved this reduction?
JSIMR was the only MD with laser knowledge on this forum but he stopped contributing here. The rest of us are just laser consumers like you, so we pass along knowledge based on our experiences and from reading other consumer stories online. I had 8 laser treatments on my chest. 4 months after treatments it all looked amazing. But, after 7th month more hair kept growing back in but I was still saying to myself “at least I got some noticeable results compared to my before photos.” But at this point the level of reduction is not satisfactory as it appeared initially.
There isn’t a cabal on here(laser section) to sell or promote electrolysis only. If laser would have given me solid reduction, I’d be strongly advocating for it for every candidate. But I too was an ideal candidate but now my results are mixed. So when Laser does not give people desired results, the only hope becomes electrolysis if they want permanent end to hair nightmare. The second option is to keep having periodic “laser touch ups” as that will keep hair at bay for longer periods.
Agree with you completely Fenix. I have even heard a story of a man who grew back tons of hair quite a few years following successful laser though I have no idea if they were “new” hairs or laser long silenced ones 
its true that Long term results are needed before a clear conclusion can be made about many aspects of lhr including issues of skin pigment changes .
I am grateful for both Electrolysis and lasers as these two seem to be the only contenders out available at this time.
Its 10 treatments,6 with lightsheer 2001-2000 and 4 with gentlelase 2011-2012.
No of course the price is not secret. Its always been around £300 for full back, shoulders arms down to elbow.
Though the Gentlelase even though being a decade later the price dropped to £270. So £3000 over all.
Im an IT Consultant so the individual treatment prices are only about 3/4 of a days pay, so the price isnt really an issue. However I dont have the time to have hours upon hours of treatment. Especially as in 2002 I was travelling about 2.1/2 hours round trip.
I dont agree with you saying that there is no cabal promoting electrolysis. I would liken it to a transport forum, and all the people who make bikes for a living are going into the car forum to say how much better bikes are.
As to the future, I am now considering whether to have my chest and stomach hair shaped a bit, and or legs treated a couple of times just for a reduction.
I have heard of women who have had the hairs on their chin treated with electrolysis for years and never got any results.
I found that to be a truly extraordinary comment. It’s one thing to say that your particular circumstances makes laser the more attractive option, and the above is another. Tell me, if electrolysis is such an outdated method, why is electrolysis the only method approved by the FDA for permanent hair removal? A bicycle conspiracy?
The more apt analogy is this: Laser is a modern car that functions most of the time, gets you from A to B conveniently, but drive it over rough terrain and it’ll break, and you’ll be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Electrolysis is slower, older rough machine: a tank you might say. But in the hands of a good driver, it’ll get you over mountains.
Mind you, this is from a guy who had 60-70% reduction with laser, and is just starting electrolysis.
Congrats on your success.
[quote=“Jad”]
…The more apt analogy is this: Laser is a modern car that functions most of the time, gets you from A to B conveniently, but drive it over rough terrain and it’ll break, and you’ll be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Electrolysis is slower, older rough machine: a tank you might say. But in the hands of a good driver, it’ll get you over mountains.
Mind you, this is from a guy who had 60-70% reduction with laser, and is just starting electrolysis… [/quote]
Ba Bing!
Let’s be very clear here. I personally could care less about your results or lack thereoff. Whether you’re covered with hair from head to toe or not does not impact my life whatsoever. I don’t know you, I’m not a laser tech and get nothing from anyone either getting or not getting results. On the other hand, I assume you even learned about GentleLASE and the best settings to use from all the information I have written on this forum over the years.
This is not exact science. You asked for our initial opinion and we provided it based on others’ historical results. The fact is that most people with your type of hair don’t get great longterm results and some get additional paradoxical growth. If your results stay this way, great for you. You were lucky and laser worked well. You also utilized the knowledge this forum provided you to put yourself in the best position to get results, which is why I am here spending my time for nothing helping people.
The way I choose to provide advice is by staying on the conservative side. I don’t want to be responsible for people getting paradoxical growth or lack of results after they spend thousands of dollars. So if there is a chance that the person won’t get good results, I don’t advise to go for it. In the end, it’s up to each person to take a chance and it’s not my place to make that call. You can take my opinion or leave it. It doesn’t impact my life in any way.
p.s. Laser doesn’t have a “gradual effect”. Hair grows in cycles, so you treated different hair each time. In fact, the finer the hair gets, the less pigment it has, and the harder it is to target and destroy.
Not that it matters, I suppose, but I’m stunned that LAgirl is not a laser tech, I thought she was!
Was your response for John Sheff, LAGirl?
Then one has to wonder a year and a half later you are still here strongly telling people their hair is not coarse enough for laser.
If as you say you dont care, and it has no impact on your life what happens to others. Then why are you here, every single day? What is your agenda?
You see I do care, I care a lot. I dont want to see people condemned to a life of having to deal with the social implications of being covered in hair they dont want. And to see them put off finding a solution by some silly girl who had her arm pits and stomach done 3 times (hardly a life changing problem) and now thinks she knows it all.
Well of course you’re surprised Michael, that’s how all her posts read. That she has seen everything, and had 10 years experience in treating people and you can believe everything she says.
Yes it does. I have 10 lots of pictures showing the gradual effect of each treatment. What do you have to prove your position?
Well I dont live in America, but my understanding of the FDA is that its a corrupt organisation that approves drugs for the benefit of drug companies profits, while hiding side effects from customers, while also banning natural herbs and medicines that compete with prescription drugs. So really I’d ignore whatever they say, they arent on your side. A search of “FDA corruption” in Google with give you a lot of look through.
And thankyou. I hope you achieve the skin you wish for. Dont ever give up.
I was just thinking about this analogy in the shower, its a good one.
Especially when you consider that 99.9% of people have found that a car satisfies their need for transport perfectly, and they choose to own one and that next to no still uses a tank.
Over the years I have been involved with the development and introduction of various products. All of the “scientific reports,” “analogies,” intelligent (or childish) comments and quips … none of these are important.
What is important … no … the ONLY thing that’s important is the MARKETPLACE! Sometimes it takes months, years or even decades for this to all work out, but the marketplace eventually decides what it wants.
Not one of us here … even those with advanced degrees and memberships in Mensa … really knows precisely what the marketplace is doing, not really.
Resting on your laurels or taking your position for granted in the marketplace is a prescription for eventual disaster. I’m old enough to remember the hubris of General Motors. Who ever would have thought that Japan would eventually garner most of the American car market? What brand of car do you drive? Remember when prognosticators said, “Apple computer is dead?”
Declaring victory in the laser vs. electrolysis debate is pathetically too early … for either “side.” (I personally don’t see the need for said “war,” as the marketplace, at this moment, has decided a place for all modalities.)
Work hard, improve your skills and think ONLY about satisfying what the patient needs … whatever it takes. At this point, I’m not taking any bets and neither should you. And, forget the “analogies.” They don’t work; they’re a fool’s enterprise. It ALL about the public.
It’s only about the marketplace!
As many of you know, I was a history teacher. I was just thinking that probably the basic reason for the failure of “planned economies,” e.g., communism, was their inability to allow the marketplace to flourish. It seems to me that in every form of economy, the marketplace is the underlying engine. Nobody, least of all governments, should prescribe, well, anything!
The basic rule: people WILL get what they want! Eventually they learn what they NEED to accomplish their goal (these are two different things) … but they have to go through the “I want” stage first! I’m involved, at the moment, in a relatively new “I WANT” project. Even though I’m positively involved, I think it’s going to fail as people learn this product is not particularly safe and will not meet their expectations. But DAMN do they WANT IT! I can’t say what this is, but I’m pretty sure I’m on the “wrong side” of this one! OOOOPS!
Then one has to wonder a year and a half later you are still here strongly telling people their hair is not coarse enough for laser.
If you actually did any research, you’d know that I’ve been here for close to 10 years now. You’re the one who’s new, not me.
I’ll paste what I wrote above again for you since you conveniently ignored it.
This is not exact science. You asked for our initial opinion and we provided it based on others’ historical results. The fact is that most people with your type of hair don’t get great longterm results and some get additional paradoxical growth. If your results stay this way, great for you. You were lucky and laser worked well. You also utilized the knowledge this forum provided you to put yourself in the best position to get results, which is why I am here spending my time for nothing helping people.
The way I choose to provide advice is by staying on the conservative side. I don’t want to be responsible for people getting paradoxical growth or lack of results after they spend thousands of dollars. So if there is a chance that the person won’t get good results, I don’t advise to go for it. In the end, it’s up to each person to take a chance and it’s not my place to make that call. You can take my opinion or leave it.
Bottom line is - you got results, many others with the same hair as you didn’t. Do a search on this forum and you’ll find plenty of stories of men with your hair type who spent lots of money and got zero results and some got additional growth. Read them and then consider yourself lucky.
Yes it does. I have 10 lots of pictures showing the gradual effect of each treatment. What do you have to prove your position?
Science - as interpreted by those who invented laser hair removal machines.
If as you say you dont care, and it has no impact on your life what happens to others. Then why are you here, every single day? What is your agenda?
I don’t have one. You do. I stuck around here for 10 years after I learned a lot from experts and got great results from both laser and electrolysis to help others in the same situation. My advice has helped hundreds of people (if not thousands at this point) get great results from laser. Sorry you don’t like my conservative approach when giving advice. This is not a reason to be disrespectful here to people who contribute their time at no cost.
On the other hand, you, like many others before you, benefited from all the information I took time to write here for people like you (isn’t it ironic that this thread started by you is called “Thank you for all the tips”? Well, you’re welcome!) for free and will go away without ever coming back. Have a nice life!